PSNgate Class Action Lawsuit Collapses

The class action lawsuit attacking Sony's handling of the 'PSNgate' hacking fiasco has collapsed after a judge ruled that the company has no culpability in the matter.

According to a summary on the Courthouse News Service, Judge Anthony Battaglia dismissed the charges "because none of the named plaintiffs subscribed to premium PSN services, and thus received the PSN services free of cost."

Battaglia also ruled that Sony faces no liability because the network was hacked by external sources. "Plaintiffs' personal information was stolen as a result of a criminal intrusion of Sony's Network," he continued. "Plaintiffs do not allege that Sony was in any way involved with the Data Breach." The bailment charge and any damages 'failed with prejudice.'

In response to claims that Sony could and should have put better protection in place for PSN account details, Battaglia stated that the Sony Privacy Policy uses "clear admonitory language that Sony's security was not perfect," so "no reasonable consumer could have been deceived."

The 'PSNgate' scandal brought PSN to its knees last year when hackers acquired access to 93,000 users' account details. Sony came under fire for keeping consumers in the dark for several weeks before admitting the scope of the situation, though the outcome of this case will likely be the final hiccup before it fades into distant memory.